Mars and Venus
by ilovetvalot
Summary: Post ep for "I Love You, Tommy Brown" from Derek Morgan's perspective. Derek needs to gain some perspective and insight into the female mind. THREESHOT
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note: Hi, ya'll. There are so many exciting things going on over at "Chit Chat on Author's Corner" forum this week! First, we have a brand new April challenge up for those that wish to participate. All the details can be found there, but basically, sign up to write your favorite character. You'll be assigned a random Original Character to pair them with in some capacity. For example, sign up with "David Rossi" and you might be assigned the OC of the second Mrs. David Rossi. Sign-ups are through March 31,2012.**_

_**Also, there's a brand new "Author of the Week" thread and this week our spotlight is on the fabulous Ren Kayashima. And, we've added a new discussion thread, "The OCs of Criminal Mind" for productive conversation regarding original characters.**_

_**Fortune Cookie Friday prompts are up for your consideration. And, we'd still like to hear from you on the idea of a Criminal Minds Fanfiction Reading Day. The idea is to choose one Sunday a month to set aside for reading and reviewing the many fantastic stories in the CM fandom. Swing by and comment on any of our discussion threads. We'd love to have you.**_

_**And a supersized thank you to everyone reading, reviewing, favoriting and/or alerting our work. We appreciate each one of you. Feel free to friend us on facebook at either "Ilovetvalot Fanfiction" or "Tonnie Fanfiction". We've got several fun things going on there too and a whole host of uber-talented author and reader friends chatting.**_

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_**This is another post-ep for "I Love You, Tommy Brown". It's a companion piece to "When the Music Changes". This story is Derek Morgan's POV. It should be a threeshot.**_

_**As always, Happy Reading**_

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**Mars and Venus**

**Chapter One**

Steering his truck into the driveway in front of him, Derek Morgan took a deep breath. Glancing up at the sky, it almost felt as though God was mocking him. Clear blue skies and early morning sunshine….every indication that the Lord was in His heaven and smiling down on him, promising him peace and serenity.

What a joke.

He felt anything BUT peaceful, today or any other day in the recent past, and he hadn't had a serene moment since meeting Penelope Garcia nine years ago. His princess excelled at keeping him on his toes, if for no other reason than to keep a few steps ahead of her. And during the few hours of the previous night when he had been able to grab a few winks of sleep, his Baby Girl's stricken face had haunted his dreams.

Squeezing his tired eyes shut, he pressed a finger to the bridge of his nose and shook his head. He felt equal parts fool and coward, heel and hound. He was so far out of his depth, he could barely draw air anymore. The truth was that he was drowning in emotion and feelings. And he hated that shit. It was weak.

And Derek Morgan despised his own weaknesses.

He knew he needed help and recognized that there was only probably one woman that could give it to him. Damn, he hoped she was feeling generous today, he thought, opening his eyes to stare up the sidewalk at the innocent looking door ahead of him. She'd sounded less than thrilled when he'd called her this morning.

Of course, it had been 6 am on a Saturday.

But, he was desperate.

Shoving his truck's door open before he could lose what was left of his nerve, he strode up the cement path, knocking on the door before he could change his mind. He suspected the woman inside wouldn't hesitate to hunt his ass down if he'd woken her for nothing on a day she could have slept in. Meeting her clear blue direct gaze as she opened the door, he smiled crookedly. "Hey, JJ."

Frowning as she looked him over, her nose wrinkled slightly as the blonde replied with her typical bluntness, "You look like shit."

Snorting at her honesty, he shrugged. "Don't be shy, Jayje. Tell me how you really feel about me."

"We'll get to that," she said ominously, raising an eyebrow and jerking her head toward the interior of the house. "Well, get in here," she invited, propping a hand on her denim covered hip as she opened the front door wider. Closing the door as Derek crossed the threshold, JJ followed her guest into the cozy living room of her home. Grabbing one of Henry's stuffed animals out of the recliner, she smiled sheepishly. "Sorry about the mess," she apologized as she gestured around the room at the stacks of newspapers and mail scattered about. "The weekends are when Mommy cleans…and sleeps in," she added pointedly with a good-natured glare at Derek.

"Yeah, sorry about that, Baby Sister." Derek winced, dropping his gaze to the floor for a moment. "I really wasn't thinking about the time when I called you. I've been up most of the night. I kinda lost track of time."

Eyebrows drawing together as she sank into one of the other worn recliners, JJ curled her bare feet underneath her. Morgan sounded almost eerily serious. Well used to his teasing and sense of humor, seeing him so somber was almost a shock to her system. Sure, he took the job seriously; they all did. But in their off hours, he was well known for cutting loose. "What's going on?" she asked. "All jokes aside, you wouldn't have called me that early if you weren't either in trouble or desperate. Or both. The last time you called me that early, I had to bail you out of jail."

Derek shrugged, his shoulders stiffening slightly at the memory. "That one wasn't my fault. Dude tries to flatten his girlfriend in a club, dude's gonna get beat down."

"Well, since you didn't show up in an orange jumpsuit and ask me for hacksaw for the irons, I'm assuming this little visit doesn't involve me smoothing the way with DCPD again," JJ theorized aloud. "So, what gives?"

"Where is everybody?" Derek asked, avoiding the question as he looked over his shoulder into the empty foyer, the house unusually quiet.

"Well, after your sunrise phone call, Will decided this might be a good morning to take Henry and run some of his energy off at the park," JJ said, lifting one shoulder before stifling a yawn.

"Man, Jayje, I didn't mean to mess up family time." Derek grimaced, running a hand around his tense neck. Jeez, he had more knots than the pine tree in his mom's back yard. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," JJ said easily, letting out a sigh. "It's not exactly paradise around here lately," she admitted. Seeing Morgan's confusion, she smiled tightly. "Will isn't real happy with my decision to come back to the BAU. We're….working it out. But," she added as she shook her head, "you didn't come over here to talk about me. C'mon, Derek. Stop beating around the bush," she urged. "What's going on?"

Uncertain whether he should dump his problems on her when she obviously had her own, he clenched his jaw.

"Derek, I wanna help. You're family. Tell me what I can do," JJ said when the silence stretched between them.

"It's Baby Girl," he finally blurted, wincing as he realized how screechy his voice sounded.

"Penelope?" JJ frowned. "What's wrong?" she asked instantly. "Is she okay?" she asked, already reaching for her phone.

Covering JJ's hand when he saw the panic begin to build in her, Derek shook his head. "Damn," he muttered, more to himself than to her. "I'm making an even bigger mess out of this shit. JJ, Penelope is fine. Physically, she's perfect." More than perfect, he added silently. Perfection, was more like it. His ideal. Only, she wasn't his. And that was all part of the fucking problem.

"Damn it, Derek!" JJ cursed, glaring at him for real this time. "You just scared the hell out of me!" Shoving her hair out of her face with an impatient hand, she demanded, "Either you start telling me what the hell has you looking like you've lost our best friend…which, by the way, I KNOW you haven't! Or, conversely, I can practice some Chinese torture techniques Emily has been telling me about. Your choice."

He honestly believed the petite woman would have no qualms using him as a human torture experiment if she thought something had happened to her best friend. "Well…see," Derek began hesitantly, "That's just it, JJ. I think I may _have_ lost Penelope. Or at the least, I've got to let her go."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's Note: Hi, ya'll. There are so many exciting things going on over at "Chit Chat on Author's Corner" forum this week! First, we have a brand new April challenge up for those that wish to participate. All the details can be found there, but basically, sign up to write your favorite character. You'll be assigned a random Original Character to pair them with in some capacity. For example, sign up with "David Rossi" and you might be assigned the OC of the second Mrs. David Rossi. Sign-ups are through March 31,2012.**_

_**Also, there's a brand new "Author of the Week" thread and this week our spotlight is on the fabulous jekkah. And, we've added a new discussion thread, "The OCs of Criminal Mind" for productive conversation regarding original characters.**_

_**Fortune Cookie Friday prompts are up for your consideration. And, we'd still like to hear from you on the idea of a Criminal Minds Fanfiction Reading Day. The idea is to choose one Sunday a month to set aside for reading and reviewing the many fantastic stories in the CM fandom. Swing by and comment on any of our discussion threads. We'd love to have you.**_

_**And a supersized thank you to everyone reading, reviewing, favoriting and/or alerting our work. We appreciate each one of you. Feel free to friend us on facebook at either "Ilovetvalot Fanfiction" or "Tonnie Fanfiction". We've got several fun things going on there too and a whole host of uber-talented author and reader friends chatting.**_

_**As always, Happy Reading!**_

* * *

**Mars and Venus**

**Chapter Two**

Dumbfounded, JJ stared at Derek a full minute before she opened her mouth. "What did you do, Morgan?" JJ asked softly, her eyes boring into his as she spoke.

"It's not so much what I did as what I didn't do," he mumbled, scrubbing the heels of his hands against his tired eye sockets.

Tilting her head, JJ replied, "Maybe you could try that in English. I feel like you're talking in some kind of code I don't understand. What happened between you and Garcia?" Glancing at her phone worriedly, she shook her head. "She hasn't called me or anything. Did you have a fight? Did she and Kevin have an argument?"

"Slow down, JJ," Derek pleaded, his own mind spinning as she fired off questions in rapid fire. Holding out his hands, he inhaled deeply. "It's complicated, okay?"

Closing her mouth, JJ nodded slowly. "Okay," she murmured, sensing Derek needed a friend right now as much as Penelope might. "Why don't you start at the beginning," she suggested, determinedly relaxing back in her seat.

Feeling his own muscles uncoil a bit as JJ subsided, Morgan swallowed. "You know Kevin and she…they're getting pretty serious, right?"

Eyes softening as she looked at Derek, JJ nodded. "Yeah, last month he was in the break room. He kept asking me what I thought of different rings in some magazine. I think he's getting ready to pop the question."

"He did, Jayje. Only he didn't so much pop it as drop it on Mama's head," Derek grumbled, rolling his eyes. "The kid has zero finesse," he sneered, shaking his head in disgust. Clearing his throat, Morgan shrugged his broad shoulders. "I guess the blame for part of that can be laid on me, though. Kevin asked me for help before we left on our last case. You know, looking for advice on how to propose."

"What'd you tell him?" JJ asked curiously, half-wishing she could have been the proverbial fly on the wall to hear that conversation.

"Nothing," Derek answered flatly. Seeing JJ's lips purse in silent condemnation, he quickly added, "Even if I'd wanted to help, we got called out on the case. The problem was that Garcia saw us talking…me and Kevin, I mean."

"So what?" JJ replied, her eyes narrowing. "Is that odd?"

"Kinda. Yeah." Morgan nodded. "See, Kevin and I have a friendly sort of avoidance pact. Look, JJ, I don't have a reason not to like the guy. Not really. From all appearances, he's good to Penelope. A stand-up guy."

"But…" JJ prodded when Morgan suddenly stopped and stared at the ceiling.

"But…he's with Baby Girl. If I don't have to see it…I can deal. I can forget he exists. But, when the dude comes to ME for help with her…nah, I can't do that."

"You don't like him," JJ stated with a silent sigh, wondering, not for the first time, how she had managed to miss this entire situation that had obviously been occurring right before her eyes.

"Not exactly," Morgan hedged, feeling guilty. Describing his feelings for Kevin Lynch was harder than getting Reid to admit he was wrong. The guy was a certified nerd…but endearing in a way that couldn't allow him to hate the guy.

"Ahhhh," JJ breathed. "You don't like _with her_," she extrapolated, seeing the answer all over Morgan's face. "You don't like anybody _with her_."

"I've tried," Morgan retorted desperately, eyes wide. "You have no idea how hard I've tried. Penelope means the world to me, Jayje. There's nothing I wouldn't do for her. Except _this._"

"And by this you mean…" JJ began, squinting as she tried to follow Derek's logic.

"Just stay with me," Derek said as he nodded rapidly. "There's more to the story. So, Garcia saw us talking. Of course, she hounded me with questions…"

"That's why you were avoiding her phone calls while we were in the field," JJ said, a light dawning as she remembered how Morgan had dodged Pen's phone calls.

"Yeah. I managed to sidestep her until we got back. And, because she's Mama…she'd worked herself up into a frenzy. I felt like shit, JJ. By the time she confronted me, she'd already figured everything out."

"How?" JJ gaped.

Lifting his eyebrows, Morgan smiled faintly. "How do you think?" Between the two of them, both he and JJ knew that when Baby Girl was on a mission, there were no boundaries she wouldn't cross. She was relentless like that. Hell, it was one of the qualities he loved most about her. That steely determination had saved his ass on more than one occasion.

"Oh God," JJ groaned, grabbing a pillow and clutching it. "She used her powers for evil rather than good, didn't she? She hacked him!"

"In a nutshell," Morgan agreed. "But in her defense, she'd allowed herself to be turned inside out by imagining the worst…and my refusal to take her calls…well, that didn't help matters. At any rate, she freaked. Started talking about how all marriages end in divorce and moaning about things changing too fast…"

"She panicked." JJ winced, imagining how badly all this chaos must have affected her best gal pal. If there was a chick more afraid of commitment than her, it was Penelope Garcia. "Penelope panicking never leads to good things. Tell me you at least tried to calm her down," JJ begged.

"Kevin showed up and I split," Morgan explained, conveniently omitting the most important part of that scenario. The truth was he'd ran like a girl. For a lot of reasons, not the least of which was that, on the off chance that Lynch did indeed manage to change her mind, watching Penelope say yes to a guy that came nowhere near deserving her might have killed him. "Apparently, when he proposed though, she didn't say anything he wanted to hear. He gave her an ultimatum, JJ. He's ready to tie the knot. Either she's in or she's out as far as he's concerned."

Hell, he couldn't even blame the guy for wanting a straight answer. He would, wouldn't he?

Hell, didn't he?

"Oh, God." JJ closed her eyes as she shook her head. "And you know all this because…" JJ nudged, with a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"Because after he walked out on her, she came and found me in my office," Morgan informed her gravely, rubbing a hand over his jaw. "She wanted me to tell her what to do."

Leaning forward as she watched Derek flinch, JJ asked, "What'd you say, Derek? What'd you tell Pen?"

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_**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please take a moment and leave a comment. We love hearing from each of you!**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's Note: Hi, ya'll. There are so many exciting things going on over at "Chit Chat on Author's Corner" forum this week! First, we have a brand new April challenge up for those that wish to participate. All the details can be found there, but basically, sign up to write your favorite character. You'll be assigned a random Original Character to pair them with in some capacity. For example, sign up with "David Rossi" and you might be assigned the OC of the second Mrs. David Rossi. Sign-ups are through March 31,2012.**_

_**Also, there's a brand new "Author of the Week" thread and this week our spotlight is on the fabulous jekkah. And, we've added a new discussion thread, "The OCs of Criminal Mind" for productive conversation regarding original characters.**_

_**Fortune Cookie Friday prompts are up for your consideration. And, we'd still like to hear from you on the idea of a Criminal Minds Fanfiction Reading Day. The idea is to choose one Sunday a month to set aside for reading and reviewing the many fantastic stories in the CM fandom. Swing by and comment on any of our discussion threads. We'd love to have you.**_

_**Also, Felena Fanfiction is hosting a weekly "WILD WORD WAR" every Wednesday on Facebook. Please contact her for further details!**_

_**And a supersized thank you to everyone reading, reviewing, favoriting and/or alerting our work. We appreciate each one of you. Feel free to friend us on facebook at either "Ilovetvalot Fanfiction" or "Tonnie Fanfiction". We've got several fun things going on there too and a whole host of uber-talented author and reader friends chatting.**_

_**As always, Happy Reading!**_

* * *

**Mars and Venus**

**Chapter Three**

"I told her that I couldn't be there for her. Not on this," he admitted softly, staring at the rug beneath his feet as equal parts shame and misery washed over him. "That's why I'm here, Jayje. I need you," he said, leveling the blonde with a look that begged for her understanding.

"Me?" JJ echoed, arching one blonde brow as she looked pointedly at the man who had interrupted her precious sleep. "Derek, you're Penelope's best friend,." JJ shook her head.

"And you're her best _girl_friend. JJ," Derek said, struggling for the words. "This is just too…hard. Watching her with him this last year…I feel like it's eaten away at my soul, gnawing away at everything that makes me who I am. I want what's best for her. I want her to be happy. But listening to her go back and forth about Lynch is like being slowly tortured."

Seeing the pain etched on Derek Morgan's granite hard face, JJ faltered, her earlier frustration fading slightly. "You're in love with her, Derek," JJ said, giving voice to the truth she'd always known. "And not just in that, "let me be there for you" kind of way. You're in so deep, you're drowning. And now, you realize exactly what you stand to lose if she says yes to Kevin."

Not bothering to deny the obvious, Derek asked hoarsely, "How long have you known?"

Merely offering him a derisive eye roll, she snorted, "How long have I been at the Bureau? The only two people on the planet that haven't figured out where you two stand are our guests from Mars and Venus."

"Smartass," Derek grumbled. Hell, he knew she had a point. He hadn't exactly done an expert job at concealing his feelings for his Princess, but damn, he didn't think he'd been quite so obvious either. Hell, he flirted with everybody…well, almost everybody. Try as he might, he hadn't yet found much to admire about Erin Strauss.

"Face it, Derek. You've got dog in the manger syndrome. You were perfectly content to let things go between Kevin and Garcia until it looked like it might actually evolve into a committed relationship. Now that it could go either way, you're like a dog with his favorite bone. And, Penelope is that bone."

"Jayje…" Derek shook his head.

"Don't Jayje me, Derek!" JJ retorted sharply, interrupting his certain denials. "Deny it if you can," she invited heatedly, the urge to wrap her fingers around his corded neck and squeeze the life out of him for his stupidity nearly overwhelming her.

"I want what's best for her. If that's Kevin, so be it. All I'm saying is that you're gonna have to take point on this particular Penelope adventure. I can't do it. She needs somebody to vent on…but, I can't be impartial. Not about her."

"Of course, you can't. Because after nearly a decade of flirting back and forth, it's time to either crap or get off the pot. And instead of being honest about your feelings, you want to just fade into the background and _hope_ she picks you. It's like a bad romantic comedy," she said in disgust as she flopped back against a cushion. "Newsflash, Morgan, this isn't a frigging movie. She can't make a choice unless she knows what all her options are!"

"I'm not an option," Derek mumbled, staring down at the floor, the carpet suddenly becoming far more interesting than anything he had seen in a long, long time.

"Pardon me?" JJ blurted.

"Garcia deserves to be with somebody that can offer her stability and commitment…and all that other crap women are searching for," he muttered, his teeth clenched as he tried to control his emotions.

"And you can't do that, why, exactly?" JJ huffed, staring at the top of his bent, bald head. "Seems to me like it's what you've been doing for years without getting credit for it. What would change? Besides the fact that you'd be going to bed together?" When the man remained quiet for a moment too long, JJ said softly the one word guaranteed to galvanize Morgan into a response. "Coward," she accused, her eyes narrowing.

Jerking his head up, Derek's chest puffed out. "I am _not_ a coward."

"Bullshit," JJ declared flatly. "You'll put your body between Pen and a bullet, but you're too damned scared to put your heart on the line. You do realize how incredibly stupid that is, right?"

"JJ, I came here to ask you to be there for Baby Girl," Derek grumbled. "Not for you to psycho-analyze me," he complained, wiping his sweaty forehead. The keen woman was striking entirely too close to his truth for comfort. No one could ever claim that Jennifer Jareau was easily manipulated.

"Lucky you, you get two for the price of one," JJ snapped, her blue eyes flashing. "If you came here looking for my help, you're gonna have to take the bad with the good."

"I'm not gonna dump my own shit on Penelope while she's sorting through what she feels for Kevin. It wouldn't be fair to her," Derek defended himself.

"Are you so dense that you can't see that it's all linked together?" JJ asked, frustrated beyond anything even her young son could manage to accomplish. "My God, Derek, you and Pen are like extensions of each other! Everybody sees it but the two of you!"

"Damn it, I _see_ it, JJ. I'm not a complete idiot. But if I went there with Mama, I could never go back. And if it didn't work…" he trailed off, squeezing his eyes shut.

The air in the room suddenly stilled as JJ felt her eyes widen unexpectedly. "You'd lose her anyway," she whispered, suddenly understanding.

"Now you're getting' it," Derek said under his breath.

"Not really," JJ dismissed him breezily. "I still think you're an idiot. But, then again, it's your God given right to be a moron if you want. I won't stand in your way," she sniffed, privately thinking that what Morgan really needed was a hammer slammed upside his exceedingly hard head.

"Very funny, JJ," Derek frowned.

"I wasn't kidding," JJ stated seriously. "I think you're nine kinds of a fool if you don't tell Pen how you feel before it's too late. Life is too short to spend waiting for a miracle, D. Make your own," she advised quietly. "That said," she groaned, leaning her head back against the recliner and meeting his eyes, "You are my friend…and you've always had my back when the chips were down. I'll do whatever you want me to do. All you have to do in return is think about what I said. Sooner or later, Mars and Venus are gonna collide all on their own. I'd sorta like to live through the fallout."

Nodding his assent, Derek met JJ's eyes again. "I'll think about it, Jayje. I swear. But in the meantime…"

"I'll talk to Pen," JJ said gently, reaching out to pat Derek's hand. "I'll explain that she needs to make a decision about Kevin with a clear head and without anything influencing her."

"Thank you," Derek replied gratefully, capturing her fingers and squeezing for a moment before letting out a sigh. "I knew I could count on you, JJ," he said as he stood, relieved that Baby Girl would have someone to lean on even if it couldn't be him.

Following him to the door, JJ touched his arm. "You need to think about what _I _said, Morgan," she ordered. "You might dodge a bullet this time, but…she won't want to be alone forever."

Swallowing hard, Derek nodded. "I will," he said huskily. "Thanks."

And as he walked toward his black truck, he knew that, beyond a shadow of doubt, there wasn't anything else he would be thinking about.

Penelope Garcia was always on his mind.

_**Finis**_

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